Death of a Salesman

Set in 1949, the year of its premiere, Death of a Salesman combines kitchen sink realism and memory play as it explores a day in the life of road weary Everyman, salesman Willy Loman. As he returns home to Brooklyn from a failed business trip, he finds himself in a state of complete crisis. He has been taken off salary, is now on straight commission, and is sixty-one years old. Unable to pay his bills and support his long suffering wife Linda, he is now also face-to-face with his two grown sons, Biff and Happy, who have returned home and are temporarily sharing their old room. Having tried to emulate their father’s ideals and follow in his footsteps, Willy’s sons now find themselves two grown men lost in a world that has become increasingly hostile. As Willy becomes ever more plagued by daydreams and illusions, Death of a Salesman leads the audience to Willy’s final desperate plunge into hope, tragedy and self-deception.